U.D.P. maintains it has title to headquarters land
On August 7th the United Democratic Party headquarters was the scene of a confrontation between party members and representatives of the Ministry of Housing who arrived to unload construction materials. The U.D.P. was informed that houses will be built on the land surrounding the Headquarters. Today the United Democratic Party held a press conference to underscore their claim that they acquired the entire strip of land during the last administration and that the government has no right to try to take it back.
On June 19th, 1997 the United Democratic Party received its land certificate giving them title to block 45, parcel 912 in the Lake Independence Division. The land that is situated on the right hand side on the south end of the BelChina Bridge was a gift from the then U.D.P. government to the party. Although Dickie Bradley the Minister of Housing has stated that the U.D.P. had illegally acquired the parcel of land, Dean Barrow, the Leader of the Opposition says everything was conducted in an aboveboard manner in accordance with the law. Barrow said the title they have is valid and that it is the incident on Saturday, August seventh that was illegal.
Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, U.D.P.
“I was out of the country, came back Saturday afternoon to find that the party had been confronted by a situation in which the Ministry of Housing had attempted forcibly to come on to the property owned by U.D.P. and begin the construction of housing within 5 to 7 feet of the actual headquarters building.”
Although many people may not agree with the way the land was given to the U.D.P., Barrow said there has been a long tradition of government giving gifts of land to various organizations. He sees the attempt to take back the land from the U.D.P. as politically motivated.
Dean Barrow
“Is the government’s position now to mean that N.D.F.B. which acquired the property on which its headquarters is constructed as a free grant, that is now to be challenged? That all the fishing cooperatives that got free grants are now to have their titles challenged? That all the friendly societies, that all the church groups that got free grants are now to have their titles challenged? Obviously not! So this is clearly a matter of political vendetta.”
However Barrow said the U.D.P. is prepared to negotiate with the government so that the matter can be settled peacefully.
Dean Barrow
“I believe I could persuade the party to give up a portion of the land if the government in fact had a legitimate use for a portion, that the parcel that we were given is a fairly good size piece and that while we had plans to develop, especially in the extremity adjourning the river, a public park for the residents of this neighborhood. We were prepared to give up that idea in order to reach an accommodation with the government.”
For the moment the load of sand dumped onto the land over the weekend remains untouched. It appears that whatever construction was planned is at a standstill depending on the outcome of a court action. However, the U.D.P. is taking no chances and has positioned a number of derelict vehicles in the area where the work was supposed to have been carried out.
This evening the government issued a statement saying that the U.D.P. obtained the property, valued at over six hundred thousand dollars, illegally since the Crown Lands Act that had allowed for such a transfer was abolished in 1992. According to the government, not only had the U.D.P. not paid for the land, they evaded the stamp duty of over thirty thousand dollars and waived the payment of registration fees. The government says they attempted to resolve the issue amicably eight months ago by offering to allow the U.D.P. to purchase the land, or a portion of the land, but the U.D.P. completely ignored the offer. The government says their actions on Saturday were intended to make it clear that while they do not intend to evict the U.D.P. from the land or disrupt their activities they do intend to use the land surrounding the headquarters to fulfil their manifesto promise of building low income housing for underprivileged Belizeans. A lawsuit has been filed against the trustees of the U.D.P. in whose name the property was transferred. The government says this entitles them to automatically take possession of the land, an allegation Dean Barrow hotly contests. However, the government’s offer to the U.D.P. to purchase the portion of the land on which the headquarters is located is still open and the government is open to reasonable discussion.
